India,Uttar Pradesh : Solar power to electrify all police stations in UP

According to reports, in a first in the country, all 1,517 police stations in Uttar Pradesh will be made self-reliant for electricity through solar power by March 2016. In the first phase, funds have been sanctioned for 250 police stations which will be equipped with 5 KV and 10KV power generation units.

Rooftop solar panels will be installed at all police stations depending on the number of police personnel deployed at the particular police station which will also reflect the size of the building in which the police station exists and thereby give an estimate of its power consumption. Out of the total, there are more than 1,350 police stations which have strength of 50 or more policemen, hence will have to be equipped with 10KV solar power units, the government proposal says.

As per the plan, the solar power will initially be used as backup option at police stations in case of power failure from the wired supply being provided by the local sub station. Once the teething problems of transition are taken care of, police stations will run on solar power. They will, however, maintain regular power connections too for emergency situations.

“We have already sanctioned the funds and installation of solar power units is underway at 250 police stations,” said Debashish Panda, principal secretary, home. “To begin with, we have included police units situated in remote or district border areas where power supply is poor,” he said. A total of Rs 60 crore has been sanctioned for the project’s first leg. “Adequate funds have been earmarked to cover all police stations in the state by March 2016,” Panda said.

As per the blue-print prepared by the police headquarters, each solar power unit will generate enough power to run the computers installed at the police station, the lights and fans at the office, lock-up and the police station compound. “The idea is to ensure round the clock electricity to police stations which in turn will ensure better working atmosphere,” said Panda.

“There are police stations, particularly in remote rural areas, which have no power supply for hours at a stretch. With solar power generation unit of their own, such a situation will not arise,” said a senior police officer.

Elaborate plans are underway to equip all police stations with CCTV cameras, particularly covering the police station office and the lock. The CCTV cameras will be connected through servers which will provide live feed to senior officials at their offices at the push of a button. A district police chief will be able to see what is happening at any police station under his supervision, at the click of the mouse, senior officers said.